Australian Open: Oh Bernie

As most readers would know by now Bernard Tomic once again pulled the pin during his first round match at the Australian Open. This time it was against Rafael Nadal. Little Tommy claimed he had a strained groin which he had hurt the previous day in practice. Some people may be willing to give the Tank Engine the benefit of the doubt, but here at Middle Australia we aren’t.

We believe the explanation is a ruse and was a set up to make an excuse to pull out of his match against Nadal. If you can’t finish a match you can claim you were playing so well and had a real chance if only this damned injury didn’t let me down. See Tomic’s press interview for further clarification. If the Tomic’s groin was really strained in practice why didn’t he have a scan immediately after to see if there was a risk of further injury if he played against Nadal? It’s easy to do and footy clubs do it all the time. The risk of further injury was one of the reasons Tomic cited for not playing on last night. The cynics amongst us would say Tomic didn’t have an injury in the first place.

We could write a lengthy diatribe on Tomic’s shortcomings, but rather we have bastardised one hit wonder, Toni Basil’s, song ‘Mickey’ and renamed it ‘Bernie’.

The Chairman

Oh, Bernie, you’re not so fineYou should be fined, you blow my mindHey, BernieHey, Bernie

You’ve been around a fifth of the nightAnd that’s a little shortYou think you’ve got the rightBut the public think you’ve got it wrongWhy can’t you say you’re contriteSo we can stay home, Bernie

‘Cause when you say you willIt always means you won’tYou’re givin’ me the shits, BerniePlease, Bernie don’tEvery match you still let us down, Bernie

Oh, Bernie, what a pityYou don’t understandYou don’t even have heartWhen you take the racquet by the handOh, Bernie, you’re so lazyCan’t you understandIt’s guys like you, BernieOh, what you do, Bernie, do, BernieDon’t waste our time, Bernie

Hey, Bernie

Now when you must take the boosWe’re all ever gonna knowAnd every time you cruiseIt becomes more of a showThere’s something you can useWo don’t say no, Bernie

So come on and grow a heart anyway you canAnyway you want to do itYou need one like a manOh, please Bernie, pleasePlease give a damn, Bernie

I’m a Tomic fan and I thought he made the right decision. Through the first set you could see that his game was compromised by the injury. He probably should not have played at all but he gave it a shot. Rafa was playing him all over the court and Tomic was keeping up, albeit under noticeable injury discomfort. If he continued there it was very likely that he could have sustained a worse injury and been out of action for longer.

Is his commitment to carry on playing one match or to play as much of the year as possible fully fit and on top of his game? I reckon that’s a no-brainer. I want Tomic fit, focussed and on top of his game. And in the Top 10. He wasn’t going to achieve that if he kept playing that particular game.

The basis problem is this . Tomic is 21, drives a Ferrari, has shits loads of money so why does he give a shit if he is annoys fans and pulls out. As the great Philosopher West Coast Dave said to me this arvo, we want our sports start to reflect some hero status when they are just people who have very different agenda. So we get the shits when they don’t meet our ideals of whatever a sports hero is. Read the same for the 20/20 mercenaries. Why put in the hard yard and maybe get a baggy green cap, or slog it like Micky Mantle and pick $500K for 6 weeks tip and run in India. mmmmmm what a conundrum. However, Tomic is still a cock with or without a tennis racket

I disagree about expecting hero status from sports stars Tony . But I think the public expect a reasonable attitude and effort. A bit of respect goes a long way. Most of us learn that life is a two way street and there are few shortcuts even for the talented. Tomic shows little respect for others and I suspect he will either learn too late or not at all.

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